Determination of freezable water content of beef semimembranous muscle DSC study

The freezable water contents of samples obtained from previously chilled semimembranous muscle of middle-aged beef carcasses after a 24 h cooling period a room at in 5±1°C were determined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) at -5, -10, -15, -20, -30, -40, -50 and -65°C. This was accomplished by freezing the samples at the above-mentioned temperatures, followed by thawing to 35°C, and measuring the melting peaks of freezable water. The areas of these peaks were determined by using the peak integration method programs through a computer linked to the DSC, and they were then used to determine the latent heat of melting (ΔHm) in kJ kg-1 at each freezing temperature. The resultant latent heat of melting per sample was divided by the latent heat for pure water to determine the amount of freezable water present in these samples. This amount of freezable water was divided by the total water content of the meat sample to determine the percentage of freezable water in the sample. The percentage of freezable water was subtracted from 100 to determine the percentage of bound water present in the sample. © 1997 Akadémiai Kiadó